Your Not So Ordinary School Life
by Papilio.Ageha
Summary: AU. Hunter Institute of Nen is an elite private school run by Headmaster Netero. Just like the name suggests, it's a special place where the students have Nen as class subject. Follow Gon and co. as they enroll the school and start their life as students with friends, romances, and of course… troubles. Some genderbendings. Future pairings: Childish, Chain, Noisy, and some Sapphire.
1. A Not So Ordinary Meeting

**Okay, perhaps some of you're wondering "Why a new fic? Why don't you just continue Cat's Eye instead?" *coughs* Sorry for those who've been waiting for the update, but I'm putting that story on hiatus right now *bows deeply*. Aside from being busy, I'm currently revising the plot in order to make it even more _twisted_. Please be patient and wait a little longer. I'll definitely update it.**

**Moving to this story, as the summary suggest, it's a school AU. The story will be waaaay less serious than Cat's Eye. There'll be some change to the characters' background (to minimize the gore and angst) and the chapters will be extremely short, but I hope you'll enjoy it :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter.  
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**Forgive me for any grammatical mistake and typo.  
**

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**Your Not So Ordinary School Life**

**Summary:** AU. Hunter Institute of Nen is an elite private school run by Headmaster Netero. Just like the name suggest, it's a special place where the students has Nen as class subject. Follow Gon and co. as they enroll the school and start their life as students with friends, romances, and of course… troubles.

**Note:** There will be several genderbendings in this story. Just like you've guessed, Kurapika will be the first victim here because your evil author wants him to wear a mini skirt (YAY for uniform~ 8D). As for the main pairing, I wanna try GonAlluka (Wish pair), KuroKura (Chain pair), LeoNeon (Noisy pair) and some KilluBisuke (Sapphire pair) for crack. The female uniform design is up at my DA.

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**I**

**A Not So Ordinary Meeting**

A boy with black spiky hair stood in the middle of a fairly crowded street. He looked up at a HUGE gate which stood sturdily before him. The gate was decorated by swirly wrought irons and there was a black metal signboard above it with a golden symbol that looked like double Xs and letters saying _"Hunter Institute"._ The gate itself led to an ever huger, manor-like school building with magnificent aura. It was surrounded by greenery and had a very beautiful front garden with flower beds and flowing fountain in the middle of the plaza.

The boy stared at the scenery before him with a wide opened mouth for several minutes. Some passersby raised a brow as they wondered what this strange boy in green was doing there, some other just chuckled and shook their head, while a few would just nonchalantly walk pass him. For example, just a few seconds ago a silverhead strolled pass him on a skateboard without even sparing a glance at him as if he had only been a decorative stone statue.

His attention was then distracted when he heard a commotion approaching from behind. He turned around curiously at the source of commotion and saw that it came from two people who were walking toward him.

"It's 5000 Jennies, but I'll give it to you for 2500 Jennies only, Miss." Said one of them. It was a fat, short brunette with strange, box-shaped nose.

Contrast to the first guy, the second guy was a very pretty boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. "I don't need it." He replied, emphasizing each syllable.

"But it's really accurate because it was made based on the real exams for thirty five years straight. Isn't that awesome? I guarantee you'll pass your exam right on the first try if you have it." The first guy continued, much to the latter's annoyance. The blonde picked up his pace and walked away in hope that the annoying fatso would leave him alone, but the other was either stubborn or simply unaware of the piling pique and kept tagging along.

The little boy in green clothes looked at them with much interest. He couldn't hear their entire conversation, but it seemed like the fat man was trying to persuade the blonde guy to buy something from him (as he had mentioned something about price).

"Miss? Miss?" The fatso tried to call out the blonde but the latter didn't budge. He then reached out and tapped the blonde's shoulder. The blonde snapped at this. An almost invisible punch flew right on the fatso's face, causing him to fly several meters back and bumped on the ground. He was K.O.-ed with blood flowing from his square nose.

The blonde turned around and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. After a while, he gained his composure back opened his eyes. Without glancing back at the man lying unconsciously some feet away from him, he stepped toward the school gate as if nothing had happened.

The green boy looked at the older guy as the latter walked toward him and passed him. They locked eyes for several seconds but none utter a word. After the blonde showed nothing but his clad-in-blue-robe back to him, the boy then turned at the fatso and somehow pitied that pathetic guy. He walked approaching the man and squatted next to him. He poked the unconscious fat man with his fishing rod but received no respond. He was thinking of bringing him to a nearby hospital or clinic when he heard a quite familiar voice called him off.

"Leave him be."

He turned his head just to see the blonde guy had stopped on his track and was looking at him now.

"But…"

"You're gonna late for the entrance exam if you keep standing there."

The blonde was right. Just as he finished his line, a loud ringing sound came from the school building and the gate was slowly closing by itself.

The boy nervously looked at the closing gate, then to the blonde, then to the fat man at his feet. He really wanted to help that man, but the entrance test was also really important to him. The entrance test to Hunter Institute was right in front of his eyes and he couldn't waste it… not here… not now. Not when he only had one chance to try it out.

Throwing a last, apologetic look at the fat man, he stood up and hurriedly ran toward the gate. He barely slipped through it just before it was completely closed and locked, prohibiting anymore applicant to participate at this year exam.

"Good decision." The blonde said before he turned around and walked away. The boy ran a little to match the older guy's pace and walked beside him.

They then walked across the plaza and soon, they arrived in front of the main entrance of the school building. There, a short, bald man with timid look had been waiting for them.

"Welcome, to Hunter Institute. Here's your applicant numbers." The man said as he gave them two round badge with numbers printed on them. The boy's was 405 while the blonde's was 404. The bald man then stepped inside and led them to the inner part of the building. After some walks, they arrived at a big wooden door. The bald man opened it and asked them to go inside. "Please take a sit according to your applicant numbers. The exam will begin in a while." He bowed as they walked passed him and closed the door behind them.

The boy looked around in awe. The room they had just entered was a big hall that was nicely decorated with a combination of dark ebony and golden furniture, big windows and paintings. There were also some chandeliers hanging above his head. The number of people there was also outstanding. If he was the 405th, it meant that there were at least 403 more people aside from him and the blonde.

He felt a nudged on his side and turned to the blonde. The latter signaled him to come with him. It seemed that the blonde had found their seats. The boy nodded and followed. They walked toward the only half occupied row of seats in the room. Out of ten seats, only three were occupied. By how the three men tightly sat next to each other despise the large space left on the other side of the row, it was quite easy to deduce that they were sitting based on their number and they must be applicant number 401, 402 and 403.

They took a seat beside a man who supposedly applicant number 403. That man looked up from some papers that had been covering his face and glanced at the two strangers who seated next to him. He scoffed when he looked at the boy before he turned back to his papers. Curious on why that man scoffed at him, the boy looked closely at him and studied his appearance as well. Dark blue suits, formal shirt, yellow tie, a pair of teashade glasses, a suitcase…

After some minutes passed, the businessman-looking man found that he couldn't stand the boy's innocent yet piercing stare anymore. He turned to the boy and scowled. "What's your problem?"

The boy just smiled in return.

The man's eyebrows twitched as he thought that it was a prank. "Stop messing with me."

The boy's smile turned to a grin. With an innocent voice, he finally spoke up. "Say, uncle…"

A vein popped on the man's forehead. "What did you say?"

"Huh? I haven't said anything." The boy blinked several time.

"You called me _uncle_ just now!"

"Oh, right... But, what's the problem, uncle?"

"GRHH-"

"Be quiet." The blonde, who sat between the two, cut in.

The man turned to the blonde. "What? Who the hell are y-"

"You're disturbing the others." The blonde added with a calm yet slightly annoyed voice.

Hearing this, the man quickly looked around and finally realized that several pairs of eyes were watching him. His face reddened in embarrassment as he shrunk in his seat.

After a few peaceful minutes passed, the door finally opened again. The room became really quiet and the tension among them rose up very quickly. A man then appeared behind the door and walked to the front of the hall. It was a tall man with grey hair and dandy moustache. He wore a wine-colored suit and gave off a gentleman vibe.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the entire staff of Hunter Institute, I welcome you to our humble school." He bowed a little then continued. "My name is Satotz and I'll be the one who conducts the entrance exam today."

"Say, what kind of exam it will be?" The boy whispered to the blonde as Mr. Satotz continued his speech.

"Hmm, I'm not sure myself." The blonde replied. The two of them then looked at the #403 man.

"I don't know. It's my first time as well. But from what I've heard before, it's extremely hard. People said that less than 10% of the applicants are able to pass the test each year." He shrugged.

Hunter Institute was one odd yet special school. It welcomed students from all over the world despise their nationality, race, gender. It also didn't accept students based on the age like any other school. Young people between 12 to 20 may take part at the entrance exam and _as long as they passed the exam_, a twelve years old kid might attend the same class as a twenty years old adult. And if they failed at the test, they might retake it the following year as long as they hadn't turned 21.

"Now, as for the exam… Everyone, can you see a mountain on the east side of this school?" Mr. Satotz pointed on one of the large windows at his left side. Everyone looked at that certain window and saw a mountain, about 2000 meters in height. They nodded and looked back at Mr. Satotz. No one had an idea what was the relationship between the exam and the mountain.

"You must climb that mountain, find a staff named Menchi and get a stamp on your badge from her. After that, you must return to this hall and show the stamp to me."

Everyone looked at him dumbfoundedly.

"You must complete the task within three hours…"

Their faces started lost colors.

"…And in a group of four. If one of the four fails, it means the whole group's failure. On other note, if someone fails to form a group of four within the next five minutes, they will be automatically disqualified from the exam."

Chaos. That was the perfect word to describe the hall now. Some of the examinees complained and ranted, while some other freaked out and desperately searched for teammates. Most of the examinees came on their own so they didn't know anyone they could ask for a party. Moreover, the extremely difficult task and the time limits made the think twice before teaming up. One's failure meant the group's failure. None of them wanted to fail because of the others' mistake, but on the other hand, they would be disqualified if they failed to join a group.

"Should we team up?" The boy asked the other two. The blonde agreed right away but the other man looked rather reluctant. A kid and effeminate guy… That definitely didn't look like a good start for him.

"Well?" The blonde urged a reply.

The man scratched his head. Well, the boy looked rather active and might be able to climb that mountain but the other was... not promising.

"Well, if you don't want then it's fine. We'll find other people to join." said the blonde. He looked rather peeved as if he could read what's in the other's mind.

"Wait! Wait! I'll join your party!"

The boy grinned hearing this. "Good. One person left."

The man in suit sighed heavily. He mentally noted to recruit a strong, decent looking man as their last member; otherwise he would fail the exam. But then, just as he thought like that, another boy with silver hair approached them.

"Hey, may I join your group?" The silverhead asked. He held a skateboard with his right hand while the other hand was casually shoved in his pocket.

The man was about to decline the request when the green boy suddenly exclaimed. "Sure!"

The man widened his eyes in shook. No, not another boy! He turned to the blonde, hoping that the latter would also oppose that boy's on side decision. However, much to his surprise, the blonde looked like he didn't mind.

"My name is Gon!" The green boy suddenly introduced himself. Well, it was actually quite reasonable remembering they would work as a team from now on.

"Kurapika." The blonde said.

"It's Killua." The silverhead also introduced himself.

The three then looked at the last member of the party. Having no other option, the man sighed again and reluctantly accepted the fact that he had to survive with this _seemingly_ hopeless group. "Leorio." He finally said.

"Well then, it's nice to meet all of you: Kurapika, Killua, Leorio." Gon said with a wide grin.

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**This… ended up longer than I expected. At first I planned it to be only around 1k but… oh well. I'm sorry if it's rather confusing because I didn't call them by their name until the very last part. Moreover, since they didn't know about Kurapika's gender here, I'll call her as him for a while.**

**Even though that the entrance exam is roughly made based on the hunter exam, it'll be different and not all of the original participants of the hunter exam will attend the school's entrance exam. For example, instead of an examinee, Hisoka will become a... Woops, no spoiler! Just wait for the next chapter to find out ^^**

**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you like the story so far. Please kindly drop a review and share your thought. Critiques and suggestions are always welcomed. I'll do my best to make this story different from the rest school AU :) **


	2. A Not So Ordinary Ice Breaker

**Hello everyone. Sorry for the slow update. Here I bring you the second chapter. Thank you for everyone who've reviewed, faved and subscribed to this story so far.**

**Beloved reviewer: Nispedana, Phoenix-Thunder, 5511narusaku4eva, kyouno-aru, and LordOfTheWest.**

**Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to its respective owner.**

**Standard warning on typos and grammatical errors apply.**

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**II**

**A Not So Ordinary Ice Breaker**

Rocky terrain, uphill, snowy path, cold temperature, thick forest, streams with strong current, wild animals… There were various obstacles that tested the examinees' endurance. Some were dangerous enough to cause severe injuries. Nevertheless, there was something even more dangerous than a rampaging wild animal. That was a single entity who lurked in the deepest part of the forest: a _monster_.

"GYAAAH!"

"NO!"

"Save me! Someone!"

Various screams could be heard from a distance. They belonged to a small party of the examinees, who were really unlucky to encounter the monster out of all obstacles set for this entrance exam.

The monster's eyes glint in the shadow. They were merciless, full of bloodthirst. Slowly, it walked toward the unfortunate group. Each step it took got them goosebumps. They backend away in fear, but the rock wall behind them prevent them to ran away any further. Raising it's right limb, the monster was ready to deliver his finishing blow.

The examinees shut their eyes, thinking that it was the end for them. But then suddenly a knife flew toward the monster from the side. The monster dodged it without much difficulty and it landed on a tree beside them.

The monster glanced at the person who disturbed his hunt. It was a young woman on her twenties. Her pink hair was tied up in several buns. In her left hand was another knife, which was identical in shape and size to the one that was stuck on the tree.

"That's enough, Hisoka-sensei!"

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_GYAAAH!_

"What was that?" Gon snapped his head and looked around. Just now he had heard a faint scream mixed among birds' flapping sound.

"What's wrong?" Killua asked to the boy beside him.

"I think I just heard a scream." The blackhead replied.

"Really?" Killua concentrated on his hearing sense, but he could only hear animals' roars and footsteps. He shrugged. "Perhaps it's just some people being chased by wild animals."

The mountain where they were currently at was a private property of Headmaster Netero. Even though it was used as an examination ground for the time being, it was originally a game reserve. There was a huge number of animals lived inside the forest: small and big, herbivore and carnivore. It wasn't unexpected that the examinees would encounter one or two beast-like wild animals on their way to the top of the mountain.

"It might be _it_." Kurapika muttered as he tipped his chin.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gon blinked.

Kurapika turned to Gon and Killua, who was looking at him in curiosity. He then explained. "I heard some rumors while we passed other groups a while ago. They said there was a _monster _on the deeper part of the forest."

"Monster?" The boys said in unison.

"I don't know what made them call it so and differentiate it from the other wild animals, but presumably it is far more dangerous than the rest of them. It's even said that the monster would attack anyone who stood before him."

"Hmm…" Gon nodded. His mind drifted away as he remembered about his foxbear friend back then in Whale Island. Was this monster stronger than a foxbear? He wondered.

"You… You guys…" Leorio called off

Gon, Killua and Kurapika turned their head to see the older guy, who was a little far behind them.

"H- How…" Leorio panted.

The three raised their brow.

"How can you guys calmly chit-chatting while we're being chased by these giant boars!" He shouted out of his lungs.

The three looked at a horde of great stamps behind Leorio. Actually, they believed that those boars would stop chasing after them after they exited the_ territory, _which was about two kilometers away,but it seemed like Leorio was on his limit as he was getting farther and farther from them. They exchanged looked and sighed.

It couldn't be helped.

"Let's split up."

The four of them ran toward different directions. Following the humans, the horde of great stamps also split their selves into four smaller groups; each consisted of two or three horned boars.

Gon and Kurapika knocked out the stamps without much difficulty. They hit the stamps on the soft spot, which was the forehead, with their fishing pole and bokken respectively. Killua, who didn't hold any weapon, lured the chasers hit their selves onto the trees. First he stopped in front of a tree and let the stamp aimed for him. A moment before it hit him, he quickly dodged to the side, causing it crashing to the tree.

Hurting animals in game reserve area was the last thing they wanted to do, but they didn't have any other choice. At least the made sure that all of the great stamps were only lost their consciousness. Anyway, everything had been settled now so they could resume their journey peacefully.

…or not.

"UWOOOOOH!"

That came from Leorio, who was still struggling with two great stamps chasing after him.

Kurapika felt an urged to facepalm while Killua just scratched his head and said, "It seems that the old man is still in trouble."

"I'll go to help him." Gon said as he initiatively ran toward the older man.

'Well, if it's Gon, everything won't take too long,' Kurapika thought. Judging by the sun's height, they still had about two hours left and their current location was almost near the top of the mountain. From now on, it'd be better if they focused more on finding the woman called Menchi.

Kurapika was deep in his thought that he didn't notice someone running toward him. And by the time he looked up, it was already too late.

"Watch out!" Killua tried to warn but the clash was unavoidable.

CRASH!

_Ouch._

Everything turned dark for a second. Kurapika felt an immense pain on his back as well as weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and found… Leorio was on top of him. Moreover his hand was on…

"I- Idiot. Get off!" He yelled at the ravenhead, who was still trying to grasp the reality.

Leorio blinked twice before he realized what had happened, where he was, who was lying under him, what his hand touched… He jumped backward as realization struck him. His paled as he watched the blonde stood up. Kurapika's face was beet red now. For a millisecond, Leorio thought that Kurapika's eyes also turned red.

"Y- You…" He could still feel it, the strange sensation when his right palm had touched something soft, something that wasn't supposed to be a part of male body.

"You're a girl?"

"For real?" Killua looked at Leorio, and then turned to Kurapika. He stared at the blonde upper body part, which was happened to be on the same height as his eyes' vision. "I don't see anything."

"Well, sorry for being flat-chested." Kurapika hissed. His- er, her face was still as red as an apple.

"T- That's somewhat unexpected. I always thought that your face and figure were too effeminate for a guy but to think that you're a guy-"

Leorio's line was cut when Kurapika pointed her bokken to his nose.

"As if you're the one who had the right to say that, pervert."

Leorio gulped as he saw an imaginary murderous aura around her.

_Life shortened by ten years._

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" Gon called out as he walked toward the three. Apparently, he had missed the _incident _because he had been busy handling the great stamps.

"Oh, Gon. Listen! There's a shocking news! Kurapika's actua-" Killua's smile suddenly disappeared and his eyes were wide opened. "GON! Watch out! Behind you!" He practically screamed as he noticed a shadow behind Gon.

Hearing the silverhead's warning, Gon quickly turned around and leaped backward. He then saw the shadow Killua had noticed a while ago. At first he thought it was another great stamp, or any other wild animal, but then he realized that the shadow was too thin for a beast. It looked like… a human.

"Kukuku… So you finally noticed me." The mysterious person said as he slowly walked toward the group and revealed himself. In the dim light because of the trees' shadow, his blazing red hair could still be seen clearly. The man was dressed in a very unusual way: face painting, bright colorful shirt with trump card symbols, harem pants, and a pair of pointy boots.

Kurapika and Leorio, who previously had been fighting, also took their defensive stance.

"Who's that?" Leorio whispered.

"From the appearance, it looks like he isn't one of the examinees. However, he's definitely not the Menchi-person we're looking for either." Kurapika answered.

"Why not? Indeed he doesn't look like an examinee and doesn't have a number badge, but isn't it logical to think that he's an examiner? If not, why would he be here?"

"Because Satotz-san clearly stated that Menchi-san was a woman."

"Oh, right. She isn't a trap like yo- Ouch!"

Kurapika stomped on his foot… hard.

"Be careful, he's dangerous." Killua warned, ignoring the two's antic. "That man… He reeks of blood."

"Oh, you can tell?" The man said in amusement as he set his eyes on Killua.

Why would that person here if he was neither an examiner nor an examinee? What was his objective? Wait, if he reeked of blood, did it mean that he had attacked something before? Was he an illegal hunter who preyed for the rare animals in this area? In that flashy clothes? Most likely not. Then why?

Kurapika's brain tried its best to figure out who that joker-like person was.

What if… what if the one he had attacked was human?

'Don't tell me…'

"You're… _it_?"

A smile appeared on the man's face.

"I- It? You mean the monster?" Leorio asked in disbelief. He admitted that man looked rather creepy and gave out inhuman aura, but the idea of the rumored monster was actually a human being instead of a giant human-eating beast was rather unacceptable.

"Think about it. _The monster would attack anyone who stood before him." _Kurapika side glanced at Leorio. "Attack anyone. Even if it was the most ruthless beast, an animal won't-"

"Attack people without reason." Gon cut in. "Like the great stumps we encountered before. They chased after us because we entered their territory. They wouldn't have done so if we had stayed away."

Unless they were hunting for a meal. However, no matter how gluttonous they were, it wouldn't be possible for them to attack people continuously.

"In other word, only humans will do so." Killua ended the deduction.

"Ho… that's impressive." The man clapped his hands. "You guys managed to figure out who I am even before I do anything. As a reward, I'll give you ten seconds." His smile widened and it delivered chills through their spine. "Ten."

"This is bad. We should split up."

_Nine._

"Why? Won't it be saver if we stick together?"

_Eight._

"No, if we split up, he'll only run after one of us."

_Seven._

"Right, and then the rest of us can aid with a counter attack plan."

_Six._

"Still, isn't that too risky?"

_Five._

"It's only way."

_Four._

"It's a do or die. It's better than standing here waiting to be slaughtered."

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

"Oh?" The man slightly widened his narrow eyes. Three out of four were already out of his sight, but the other one was still standing before him. He didn't even take any step to distant himself from the rumored-monster.

"I know I won't stand a chance in front of giant beast like those horned boar, but," Leorio said, a cold sweet dripped on his forehead. "If it's a human…" He took a penknife out of his trouser's pocket. Aiming for the target, he dashed forward. "UOOH!"

On the other side, the mysterious man had recovered from the small surprised. A smile returned to his face. "Straight forward, aren't you? Well, I don't hate that kind of person but…" He muttered before dodging the knife that was aimed right to his face. Swiftly, he grabbed Leorio's hand and pulled him, causing the ravenhead to lose his balance. Just before Leorio hit the ground, the man punched him with his other hand and set him flying backward.

"Too bad, it's still too early for you to face me." The man said as he licked a stain of blood on his fist.

"Leorio!" Gon, who had witnessed everything, left his hideout and rushed to aid the said guy.

"Gon!" Killua tried to stop the boy in green but he was too late. Gon was already out of his reached.

Gon threw the hook of his fishing pole toward the joker man, but, again, it was dodged easily.

"Why do you come back?" The man asked.

"Isn't it obvious? There's no way I'd leave a friend behind!" Gon replied, half shouting.

"Oh." The man smirked. "Not because _if he fails you'll also fail_, but because he's a _friend_?" He asked again, emphasizing the keywords.

"If we fail this year, we can still retake the test next year. But, if Leorio dies now, he won't be able to take the test again… ever!"

Not only the mysterious guy, Leorio and even the other two who were hiding was left speechless hearing Gon's reply.

Then suddenly a new person barged in.

"Stop right there!" A pinkhead shouted at them; well, to be precise, at the joker man. She then fearlessly walked toward him.

"Oh my, what's it, Menchi-sensei?" The man replied in playful tone.

"Don't play dumb, Hisoka-sensei!" The woman called Menchi put her hands on the hips and glared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Geez, the headmaster assigned you to _hinder_ the examinees, not to _murder _them!"

"What a false accusation. I _haven't_ even laid a finger on them. See?"

She looked around to confirm his statement. She looked at Gon and Leorio, then to Kurapika and Killua who were still maintaining the distant and stood a bit far from where she was.

"…you're right."

"The hell! Don't you see that I'm injured here?" Leorio protested.

She tilted her head to the side and answered, "Hm? You look fine to me."

"Now you've seen everything, I hope you won't misjudge me anymore in the future." Hisoka said slyly.

Her eyes twitched in annoyance.

"Beside, I was actually going to let them go."

"Huh?"

"You see, my job isn't only to obstruct the examinees, but also to _judge _whether they_ deserve_ to board our school or not. And these guys, they passed. All of them."

A high spirited, pure-hearted boy; a straight forward but a bit reckless guy; a calm and level-headed boyish girl; and lastly a…

_The new school year would be really interesting. That's of course, if they could pass the entrance exam._

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**Again, it ended up to be rather long. It's even only a half from what I planned to write. Just what's wrong with me…**

**Anyhow, I hope you like this chapter. Hisoka's being a teacher. Just how many of you foresaw this? ^^ Even though I left out the description on Killua, I think all of you know perfectly who he actually is… and it seems that Hisoka also knows his true identity.**

**Next: Gon and co thought that the exam would end by the time they returned with the stamps from Menchi. However, much to their surprise, another exam was waiting for them and it was a written test. Well, it wasn't unexpected that they would undergo that kind of test, wasn't it? It was a _school_ after all.**

**Thank you for reading. Please review and share your thought *bows***


	3. A Not So Ordinary Test

**At first I felt like procrastinating so I decided to write, but somehow I took me more than a week to finish this.**

**Special thanks to beloved reviewers: LordOfTheWest, Phoenix-Thunder, kyouno-aru, and RabuRuka-sama; as well as those who fav and follow this story. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to its respective owner.**

**Standard warning on grammatical errors and typos applies.**

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**III**

**A Not So Ordinary Test**

"One, two, three, five, ten, fifty, a hundred… Two hundred." Gon muttered as he _counted _the numbers of people in the hall.

"How can you count like that? There must be four before five, and one hundred ninety nine before two hundreds." Killua sweetdropped. Much to his surprise, Gon's absurd _math_ was quite accurate. There were indeed around two hundred people in that room. They were the ones who had successfully found the examiner Menchi, received stamps, and gotten back before the time limit.

"Two hundred… that makes half of the applicants." Kurapika said as she tipped her chin.

Leorio looked around in confusion and scratched his head. "That's strange. I heard a rumor it was really hard to pass the entrance test."

Gon looked at the tall man and replied in cheery voice. "Well, perhaps it was only a _rumor_. Isn't it great that we all passed the test?"

"That's good but… The test was kinda boring. I thought it would be a little more challenging." Killua commented as he closed his eyes and shrugged. Just like usual, his hands were shoved into the pockets on his shorts.

Gon chuckled hearing the same-age friend's comment. He was about to say 'It can't be help' when a voice came out from several loud speakers that were placed in the hall.

"_Attention, everyone…" _

The four automatically stopped their conversation and looked at the nearest speaker, which took form of a stag's head wall decoration.

"First of all, congratulation for passing the entrance test…" The man on the loud speaker said.

The examinees cheered hearing it; some of them applauded and even shook hands with their team members to celebrate their success. The quartet also couldn't help but smiling at each other.

"_I would like to say that, but too bad I can't. All you have been through was only the first phase after all."_ The man added flatly.

"WHAT?" Almost everyone in the room exclaimed in disbelief.

"You mean there's more?"

"No way!"

The crowd started complaining.

"First phase… It means the exam hasn't ended yet." Kurapika remarked calmly.

"That man, he _tricked_ us. Why didn't he just say that there would be another test? He must be playing with us." Leorio grumbled. He was agitated by how the staff had given them a false hope.

"Hmm, what kind of test will it be…" Gon wondered. He was perhaps the only one who didn't question the staff's not-so-funny spoof.

"Beats me." Killua replied. "Let's just hope it will be more challenging than before."

"_And now for the second phase, which will be also the last one…" _The loud-speaker man continued as if he could hear Gon's question. The examinees stopped their rants as soon as they heard him and the hall suddenly became quiet again. _"It will be…"_

The tension went up as he intentionally paused to stall the time. The examinees unconsciously held their breath as they waited for the continuation.

"_A written test."_

"NO WAY!"

Killua was the first one to react. Why? Why? Out of all possible kind of exam and test why must it be the most boring one with pen and papers? Man, he didn't come here just to sit in a table and do silly mathematic questions.

Nevertheless, the rest of the examinees did originally come for that. What would one expect from a school entrance examination anyway? It would be really strange if there wasn't any written test to measure the applicants' level of intelligent.

"_You'll be given five minutes to prepare yourself. After that please follow one of our staffs to proceed to the test room."_

Five minutes for preparation. _Only_ five minutes.

"Oh great, what should I do now?" Leorio started panicking and ruffled his short hair. He sat down on the floor and opened his briefcase. He rummaged its contents in hope of finding something that would help him. "Everything I've read has evaporated thanks to that physical-torture exam." He complained to no one while tossing aside some thick books he knew he wouldn't be able to read in such short time.

"Man, this is boring." Killua sighed. He placed his arms behind his head and, instead of studying like the others, just gazed at his surrounding with blank eyes.

"Killua, you don't study?" Gon asked.

"I don't like studying." Killua answered with bored tone. He glanced at the spiky haired boy and noticed that the other boy didn't bring any book with him. "What about you? I see you aren't studying either."

"Me?" Gon laughed slightly. "Well, to begin with I didn't expect that there would be this kind of test so I left all my books back at home."

"Hmm…" Killua recalled that Gon did only bring a light-looking backpack and a fishing rod with him.

"If they're only simple questions I think I can manage to answer them."

"I don't think they will be."

"In that case, at least I'll do my best."

Killua stared unbelievingly at Gon, who looked back at him with his ever optimistic smile. Where did Gon get such confidence? Killua wondered. Nevertheless, _doing one's best_ didn't sound half bad, did it?

The corner of the silverhead's lips slightly curved upwards. "I guess I'll _try _to do my best to."

While Gon and Killua were having their peaceful exchange of thought, Leorio finally found something that might be a great for him passing the exam.

"Found it!" He cheered as he held up a thin bundle of papers. He looked at those papers and a wide malicious smile appeared on his face.

Who had thought that _these_ would have really become a great help? Good thing he had made a right decision to buy them from that fat old man, even thought that person had looked rather suspicious and not really convincing. A series of cheat sheets that were made based on the entrance exams for the last 37 years. If he read them now, he would be able do most of the questions and passed the exam.

Thanked God the 10,000 Jennies he had spent on them wouldn't be a waste. It would be nothing compared to what he would get once he enrolled this school. Right, with these he could-

"Confiscated."

Suddenly the papers slipped out of his hands.

"What the?" He looked up and saw his blonde fellow was holding the papers. "Give them back."

"No."

"Give them back."

"No."

"Kurapika!"

"I won't give you these… things." She looked at the papers in slight disgust. "Listen, Leorio. This exam is to measure whether one's worth to enroll this school or not. What's the point of taking the test if you're cheating? Even if you pass, it's not because of your own ability."

"Like I care. I need to be accepted into this school no matter what."

"That's just WRONG."

"It's none of your business, you flat-chested, androgynous wo-"

BHAM!

Kurapika launched her high kick for the second time today, resulting another one-hit K.O.

The seventeen years old girl tore the cheat sheets into pieces and grumbled. "This's why I hate stupid man." She made her way through the crowd and disappeared in the sea of people.

"Stupid." Killua remarked as he watched the pointless fight.

"_Attention please, the exam will begin shortly. All examinees please proceed to the test room."_

The doors opened as soon as the announcement ended. A small man stood by the door. It was the same man who had given them the plate numbers. He politely bowed then instructed the examinees to follow him.

"Oh, here it is! Let's go guys!" Gon said as he lent a hand to help Leorio get up.

"Right." Killua replied nonchalantly. Who would be so excited about a test anyway?

The three followed the small man alongside with the other examinees and went upstairs. The test room was on the fourth floor. It was a lecture hall with lines of tables forming arches, a podium and three whiteboards that were attached to the wall in front of the class.

After learning that they must be seated according to their applicant numbers, Killua bid goodbye to the other two and went to the front row. Gon and Leorio then searched for their seats, which they easily found as soon as they caught a glimpse of their blonde companion. They went to the back row where she was and took a seat on her left and right sides. She didn't look up when they sat down. Instead, her gaze was fixed to the podium in front of the class. Gon noticed it and followed her line of vision. There, he saw a man was standing by the podium.

It was a rather short man with black Mohawk hair. His narrow eyes were barely visible behind a pair of big orange glasses. The mischievous smile on his lips made the examinees anxious. Somehow it was giving out that the exam wouldn't be easy.

"Welcome to the second phase. I, Lippo, will be your proctor here," He said through the microphone on the podium. "The test will begin in a moment."

* * *

Math, biology, physic, history, social studies, geography, literature, and even runes… The one hundred questions covered them all. It's said that to pass the test one must answer everything correctly, but the questions were way too difficult. The level was way too different from a normal university entrance exam. Even a professor couldn't possibly get all of them right.

Leorio he repeatedly tapped his pen against the table while his other hand ran through his black hair. The test really drove him nuts. Out of 100 questions he could only answer less than half. At this pace he would surely fail the test.

Nervously he glanced at people around him. They all looked trouble on some certain degrees, even the smart looking Kurapika was also struggling with the questions. He glanced farther to the left and saw that Gon didn't do any better than him. Much worse, he must say. The boy's answer sheet was almost clean white.

If this went like this, would any of them pass?

His mused was interrupted when a bell signaling that the time almost up.

"Attention please." Lippo said after the ringing sound ended. The examinees automatically stop on their track and looked up. The small man who was standing at the podium looked back at them with an eerie smile. "How's the taste of our entrance test? Extraordinary, isn't it?"

Extraordinarily hard,' Leorio mentally noted as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Where are we now? Right, this is Hunter Institute, a special school meant for special people. We only pick the best _seeds_, 1 out of 1000. Our students are expected to be able to do this much of test." Lippo stopped for a while and eyed each of the examinees. "Those who can answer 80% of the questions correctly will be automatically accepted to this school and those who fail… will never get the chance to take the test again."

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Was this man saying that if they fail here they wouldn't be able to take the entrance exam again? They had never heard such a rule!

"However," he continued. "We'll respect those who _admit their own limits _and afford them an opportunity to retake the test next year." As he said that, the door lead to the corridor opened. "There's still fifteen minutes before the test ends. For those who want to forfeit please leave the room before the time limit."

By the time Lippo ended his speech, Most of the examinees had lost their will to continue the test. They were now more preoccupied by the thought of retiring from the exams. Indeed forfeiting now and coming back next year would be better than failing here once and all. At least they would have a one year time to prepare their selves. What's the point of staking their future here if they were sure they wouldn't be able to pass the test?

One by one the examinees left the room, and after ten minutes passed, only about a quarter stayed. Those included applicant number 99, 403, 404, and 405.

#404 was one of a few people who still seriously doing the test. #403 beside her was also doing his test, though he looked rather troubled with the questions. His brows furrowed as he tried to solve the difficult math problems. Several rows in front of them, #99 leisurely sat back while twirling his pen. Unlike the others, he didn't look oppressed at all.

Out of the quartet, perhaps only #403 who was still contemplating whether he should give up or not. It was nearly impossible for him to pass the test, but if he forfeit now… his dreams of becoming a doctor would never come true.

"You there."

Leorio jolted in surprise when Lippo suddenly spoke up. For a moment he thought it the man was talking to him, but then he realized the one Lippo meant was Gon.

"We don't accept people who rely on their luck, let alone those who don't take this exam seriously." Lippo said to Gon. His orange glasses glinted under the lights. "This is not playground for kids."

"You're wrong." Gon replied firmly. The boy looked at the examiner with a straightforward gaze. He was unshaken by Lippo's intimidating look. "I'm neither relaying on my luck nor I fooling around. I want to pass this test no matter what. There's something I must do here."

Lippo shook his head. "Relying on the determination then? Boy, you're still too green. You should know when to stop. I know you aren't doing well in the test. Isn't it a shame if you lose your right to retake the exam if you fail here?"

"Still, I can't just retire yet."

"Why not? There's always next time."

"There's no next time for me. My family gives me permission to take the exam for this time only."

"So you're saying the percentage of you persuading your family to allow you retaking the test is slighter than the percentage of passing the test itself?"

Gon lost his word after hearing Lippo's statement. The man watched the boy bow his head in silence for a while before he said. "One minute left. It's the last change to make a decision. Are you going to retire?"

Gon made a quick think then he looked up. "No, I hate doing things in half-hearted way."

Lippo smiled in amusement as he heard Gon's final answer. Who would think a kid would come up with such a determination?

"Hate doing things in half-hearted way, huh?" Leorio murmured as he tipped his chin. "That sounds rather cool. Perhaps I'll try to adapt that principal as well."

"Said a man who relies on cheat sheets." Kurapika commented. Apparently she could hear his loud thought.

"Hey, I don't cheat. You took the cheat sheets before I could read anything." Leorio defended. "Besides, even though I look like this, I have been studying for months for the sake of this exam."

"Is that so?" She skeptically raised a brow.

He looked away and huffed. "It's up to you whether you wanna believe it or not. It won't change anything."

"Well then. Let's wish the best for all of us."

"Eh?" He quickly turned back to her and blinked in confusion. Were his ears deceiving him? He hadn't expected she would have easily believed him like that. He wanted to make sure but once again, he was interrupted by the sound of bell.

"Time's up." Lippo announced. The examinees simultaneously stop writing and put down their pens. They waited for further instructions from him.

However, what came out from his mouth lips was something no one had ever expected.

"_Congratulations, you all have passed the exam."_

* * *

**No, it's not a joke this time. They really passed the exam. All of them XD How? Why? It'll be explain latter.  
**

**After this we'll have a small time skip and proceed to April, when the new school year begins ^^**

**Review please, and wish me luck for the upcoming exams!**


	4. A Not so Ordinary Beginning

**As usual, I got this [I wanna write – screw the exams] syndrome while it's only a week away from the final XD**

**I see it's almost half a year since I updated this. Some of you might have heard that I was contemplating whether I should continue this fic or not. To be frank, there was a lot of school!AU back then that I lost my interest in writing one *shrugs* Anyway… since the number has decreased and I want something light to write, I'll try continue this. **

**Special thanks to everyone who've waited and supported this fic until this far :)**

**Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Togashi. Fanfic and AU! school concept used here belong to me**.

**Standard warning on grammatical errors and typos applies.**

* * *

**IV**

**A Not so Ordinary Beginning**

It was April: the beginning of spring; the beginning of school year; the beginning of everything.

"First of all, as the principal, I'd like to welcome our new students to our humble school."

An old man stood at a podium and began his speech in front of hundreds of much younger audiences. Despite his age, which was one hundred and something, the old man looked really healthy and full of spirit. He stood up straightly and his voice didn't waver. The smile on his face made him looked like he was only on his early sixty.

"Hunter Institute. The one and only Hunter Institute. The_ supposedly _world's number one school which promises bright and successful future to its students. Well, that's what they say about us," the old man mused as he stroked his white beard. "Is it true? For me, this school doesn't look any different from any other school, beside being a private school with a completely free school fee. I wonder why people make a fuss over it. Is it because we don't judge the students' capability by their age? Or is it because some of our graduated _happen_ to become famous? Well, I guess it's up to everyone's perception. The only thing I know is there're always tons of aspiring students from all over the world who apply to this place every year. Honestly we have a hard time during the selection since we have limited seats and bedrooms."

He stopped playing with his beard then continued with a more serious tone in his voice."Some of you might have been wondering about how you managed to pass the test despite your bad performance back then. Could it be that it was a mistake? What if this old man suddenly says that you're not supposed to be here and cast you away? "

He slowly gazed at the first years. The silence made them held their breath. After a while, his lips curved upward and his eyes softened.

"Let me assure you: you are here now because you are _qualified_ to be our students. "

The smile on his face grew wider as he explained. "What are we? Yes, a school. What is a school? A place to learn. Who need to learn? The fools! The fools who's _willing_ to learn. We don't want geniuses as our students. Geniuses can study by themselves. The one we want to teach is you, the fools who posse a spirit that will never go out.

It's okay if you are not bright or skillful. We are here to turn you into one. We will help you with all of our might. It's our responsibility. From this point onward until you all graduate, we'll become a big family who struggle together. The ones sitting on your left and right will be your brothers and sisters. You've got to help each other as no one can live alone. Make friends, share a healthy rivalry among yourselves…" He stopped for a while before continue with a big grin, "and find a love, probably."

The senior students laughed hearing his words while some of the teachers coughed and gave the old man a disapproving look.

"Last but not the least, enjoy your school life."

The teachers, staffs and students gave him a standing applause as he ended his speech and walked back to his seat.

"Thank you, Netero-kouchou-sensei. Now we'll proceed to…"

* * *

"That speech was really something." Leorio said. The opening ceremony had just ended a while ago and now the students had to get back to their respective classes. There were three classes in total for the first years. It was quite lucky that he, Gon, Kurapika and Kilua were assigned to the same class.

"Agree." Kurapika nodded. "The Principal's idealism is really amazing. Now I understand how the test actually worked… and why Lippo-sensei looked really impressed on Gon's statement back then."

Leorio raised a brow. "Lippo? Oh, you mean that bespectacled man?" He asked while trying to recall the Mohawk haired man who had became their proctor during thewritten test.

"Geez. You have to remember his name properly. He's one of our teachers." She said in disproval.

"Well, pardon me; he only stated his name ONCE and I was under the fake-test pressure at that time. There were a lot of way more important things for my brain to remember than his name." Leorio snorted. "And I don't think I'll get to remember every teacher's name. You saw them too, right? There were around 50 of them. "

"I wonder what kind of subject we'll have." Gon said excitedly. "They must be fun!"

"Really? I don't think so. A school is a school after all." The silverhead shrugged nonchalantly.

"Geez, Killua. Why are you so lack of spirit?" Gon furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you miss your breakfast?"

"Why are you so full of spirit?" Killua sneered. "And I had my breakfast, thank you. I don't mind a second round though." He grinned ear to ear.

"It's our first day of school. Don't you feel thrilled at all?" Gon pouted.

"No~pe." Killua said as he stopped at a nearby drink machine and search for a hundred Jenny coin in his pocket.

Gon stopped by the silverhead's side. A vein popped on his forehead. "Why did you ever register to here then?"

Killua, who was raising his index finger and was about to push the hot chocolate drink button, suddenly froze for several milliseconds. "That's... a secret… But it doesn't have anything to do with the '_I_ _want to learn' _thing that old man said." He said as he turned to the other boy and stuck out his tongue. He then returned to the machine and got his drinks. "Well then, later!" He said as he ran leaving the group.

Gon was taken aback by the sudden depart. "K- Killua!" He called his out friend but the silverhead had disappeared among the crowd. "Geez…" He huffed.

"Let him be, Gon. Everyone has their own reason why they want, no, _need _to be here." Kurapika said as she tapped the boy's shoulder.

Gon looked up at the blond girl. "But…"

"The Principal said that we're here because _want to learn_, but it's not entirely true. Me, for example. Of course I'm really happy to get a chance to attend such a school and it's not a lie if I say I'm looking forward to the classes… However, my real objection is to get a letter of recommendation for my dream job. There's been a saying that the graduates from this school can easily get any job they want and I believe half of the students here aim for the same thing."

"Well, actually I'm the same," Leorio said. "I want to get a scholarship to a medical school. I heard this school has a lot of affiliations."

"I see. So Leorio wants to become a doctor, eh? That's great." Gon smiled at the tall man.

"W- Well, I still have a lot of thing to learn," Leorio's cheeks flushed red. "Speaking of which, what about yourself?"

"I… I want to find my father." Gon answered as he suddenly become solemn.

"Father? Do you mean your father is a teacher here?" Kurapika asked.

"No," Gon shook his head. "He's not here… apparently."

"A- Apparently?" Leorio blinked.

"Well, I'm not really sure. I have never met him before. He left me in my aunt's care when I was a baby. All I know are how he looked when he was young and that he's a graduate from this school." Gon shrugged. "I also thought he might a teacher here and looked for him among the teachers this morning, but I didn't see him."

"I see… " Kurapika said.

"But it's ok. I know it won't be that easy. Besides, I'm happy that I'm here now. I get to meet you guys, and Killua, and everyone here. I believe I'll also get to meet my father one day. Until then, I'll just do my best learning here." Gon smiled at his friends, who were looking at him in sympathy. "Up until now, I was home schooled by my aunt so it's my first time attending a real school and I'm so excited about it."

"I've gone to other school before, but this place definitely has a different vibe." Leorio nodded. He then offered an open hand to Gon and said, "Let's do our best, shall we?"

"Yup!" Gon answered as he high fived with Leorio.

Kurapika smiled seeing the two. "Do our best, eh? That doesn't sound bad. There's indeed a lot of thing we need to learn here."

The bell then rung and the three hurriedly ran to their class. They got into their class just before the teacher arrived. They scattered to find their seats that had been arranged before according to their role number.

Gon took a seat on the second row then looked around. He noticed that a seat near the window was still unoccupied. He couldn't find a certain silverhead that was supposed to sit there. Where was Killua? Could it be that Killua was planning to skip the class right on their first day?

'Geez, that Killua.' He shook his head before he turned around to see the teacher.

"Good morning class. My name is Wing, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the following year." The teacher introduced himself. He was a bespectacled blackhead in his early thirty. Despite being a teacher, his white shirt was untidily stuck out from his pants. "For today's class, each of you will make a brief introduction in order to get to know better."

The students did what he said. One by one starting from the front row stood up and introduced their self. Some of them told a very long story about their selves, some other only say a few words. During his introduction, Gon told his new friends that he was from Whale Island. He said that it was a very beautiful place and it would be really great if they come to visit his hometown one day. Leorio told everyone about him being an aspiring doctor and share his idealism that money was the most precious thing in the world (which was opposed by Kurapika and thus the two were engaged in another argument). Kurapika herself didn't tell much about her background other than she came from the Kuruta Clan.

"I hope you can get along well," Wing said after the last student finished their introduction. "Now I'll hand out your timetable. Zushi-kun, can you help me?" He said to a boy who sat on the front row, left side of him. It was a boy with short brown hair, thick eyebrows. His black eyes were round and big. He looked slightly younger than Gon.

"Osu!" The Zushi boy replied as he stood up. He walked to the teacher desk where Wing handed him a bundle of papers. He then distributed the paper one by one to the students.

"Zushi-kun here is your senior, _but for a reason_ he will stay in this class throughout the year." Wing announced, which made the said boy almost tripped on his own feet.

"S- sensei! Don't say like that. It's embarrassing-su!" Zushi's tanned cheeks blushed slightly in embarrassment as the teacher had just carefreely announced that he had to repeat a year.

Wing laughed hearing Zushi's complaint but didn't say anything to the boy. Instead, he turned back to the class and continued. "You can ask his help if you have any trouble or question since he has more experience."

"Yes, sir!" The students replied in unison.

"Well then, that's all for today. We'll start the class tomorrow." The bespectacled teacher said. He then took his books and left the class. Some of the students followed him exiting the class while some other stayed. Gon and Leorio approached Kurapika's desk, where they examined the timetable together.

"Let's see…" Leorio mumbled as he read the timetable copy in his hand. They had P.E. every morning for an hour. It was held on the school ground. Then they had fifteen extra minutes to change clothes and get back to the classroom where basic subjects like math, language, history, etc. were held until noon. Homeroom was on Wednesday, also in classroom. They had two breaks; one was between the second and the third period while the other was the lunch break after the fourth period. After the lunch break they had a class called _Nen_ that was held in the dojo. "Huh? What's this _Nen_?"

"Beats me," Kurapika said as she leaned her chin to her palm. "It looks like an important subject though, since we had it every day for two periods long."

"I wonder what kind of subject it will be… Dojo, eh? Sounds fun." Gon said excitedly.

"Well then, why don't we ask the boy called Zushi? He must know something about it." Kurapika suggested.

"Good idea!" Gon exclaimed. He looked around then found Zushi was gathering his belongings on his desk. "Zushi-senpai!"

The said boy turned around and looked at the three with a puzzled look. "Yes?"

"Ano, can you tell us what this Nen subject is about?" Gon asked.

"Eh?" Zushi scratched his head. "Um, I can't explicitly explain about it. But you'll find out about it soon. Wing-sensei will explain it tomorrow-su."

Leorio and Kurapika looked at him in a slight disappointment. "Uh, okay…" Leorio said.

"Sorry for being so useless-su. Even though sensei has asked me to help the new students… As I thought I'm not suitable for this task." Zushi hung his head.

"No, no. It's perfectly okay, Senpai!" Gon quickly replied. "I believe there must be a lot of thing we can learn from you."

Zushi smiled sheepishly hearing Gon's words. "Well then, let me show you around-su!"

"That's sound like a good idea. That way we won't be late for the class." Gon grinned.

"That's right-su. By the way, just call me Zushi-su."

"Okay! Nice to meet you, Zushi. I'm Gon. These are Leorio and Kurapika. Oh, there's also another boy named Killua..."

* * *

Far from the crowd, on the east side of the school building, there was a tranquil garden decorated by cherry trees. A silverhead walked alone along the dirt path while lazily looked around at the beautiful scene around him. The warm weather made him feel sleepy, especially after he finished a can of hot chocolate drink. He strayed from the path then sat down under one of trees. He used his gakuran as a pillow and laid his back on the ground that was carpeted by pink petals. He stared blankly on the pink ceiling above his head while his eyelids gradually became heavier. Slowly he closed his eyes and let his consciousness drifted away.

But then…

"Skipping the class right on the very first day, eh? Hohoho. That's very brave of you."

A voice brought him back to consciousness. He instinctively got up and jumped back, which caused him hitting the trunk behind him. The sudden movement he made plus the ache on his temple made him felt dizzy. Nevertheless, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. He shot a deadly glare at the person who disturbed his nap.

"Hohoho. You don't have to be so tensed," the intruder said. "I came all the way here for the same reason as yours after all." Despite what he said, the boy still glared at him. It seemed like the boy found it hard to believe in his words, even though he was the school principal.

Netero looked up at the trees that showered him with pink petals. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. A smile was plastered on his face as he stroke his short beard. "Nice weather, isn't it? It'll be such a waste to lockup oneself in the building. Hm, maybe I should hold a hanami. That sounds like a decent idea, no? What do you think, boy?" He turned to Killua, who was still staring at him in caution. "Or maybe we should just keep this place as a secret. Such a placid place might get ruined by the crowd and we'll lose our little Eden. Honestly, it'll be a pain in the ass if the staffs find out about this place. I'll have to search for another place to take a rest."

Killua looked at Netero closely. The school principal was really weird. He kept talking about a lot of things, mostly to his own self.

Yet…

He had heard from _somewhere_ that this gramps was really amazing. He had heard that a lot of important people around the world, including the elders in his family, respected this person for some reason. What had made it so? He didn't know. In his eyes this gramps was nothing more than a weird man… who was able to conceal his presence perfectly.

"Anyway, Wing will be disappointed if you skip the class again tomorrow."

"Huh?" Killua blinked at the sudden change of the topic.

"Wing. He's your homeroom teacher. Made sure you go to your class on time, Killua-kun." Netero was about to turn away when Killua stopped him.

"Wait, you know me."

"Hm? Of course I do. I've memorized every student's name, looks and class they're assigned to." Netero chuckled.

Killua frowned. "No, that's not what I mean! You _know _me. You know who I really am!"

Netero's expression slightly changed. He looked more serious, but the smile didn't leave his face. "If it's about you being a Zoldyck, your full name is written on your resume so most of the teachers know about it already. As for me, Silva has personally informed me that one of his sons would be here."

Killua's brows furrowed even further when he heard his father's name.

"Or is it about the reason why you're here? Well, I can roughly guess it even thought your father didn't say anything beside you want to learn about socializing with _normal_ people. Besides, from what I see now, it seems like you are not interested in learning at all, am I right?" Netero finished his deduction with a smirk.

"Hee, you do know a lot, gramps," Killua said as he shoved his hands into pockets. "Let's get to the point then: is _that person_ here?"

* * *

**Dom dom~ Me likes cliffhanger… thought I'm pretty sure you guys have already know whom Killua was talking about.**

**Next time we'll get to learn more about the school system (and why Zushi had to repeat a year). We'll also meet more characters so I please look forward to it :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please spare a minute or two to drop a review. Any kind of feedback is welcome! Thank you and see you next time ^^**


	5. A Not so Ordinary Companion

**My exams start tomorrow, yet since it's Gon's birthday I think I'll write a little.**

**Special thanks to kyouno-aru, Nispedana, Phoenix-Thunder and Latias876 who reviewed last time. Also, thanks to everyone who's been sticking with this story, reading, faving, following, C2ing, etc.**

**At least someone won't be left hanging for 6 months…**

**Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro. School AU concept belongs to me.**

**Standard warning on grammatical errors and typos applies.**

* * *

**V**

**A Not So Ordinary Companion**

"Killua!"

The said silverhead stopped on his track when he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw a familiar boy with spiky black hair, a familiar androgynous goldilocks, a familiar old-looking man with tea shade glasses, and… an unfamiliar boy with ultra thick brows. He shoved his hands into his pants and waited for the others to approach him.

"Where have you been?" Gon asked while he ran toward the same-age friend.

"Just taking a stroll," Killua answered. He thought for a while before adding, "And a nap."

"Geez, Killua. You shouldn't skip the class." Gon huffed.

"Yeah, yeah…" Killua rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He asked back.

"The class was dismissed earlier so we decided to take a tour around the school." Kurapika informed.

"Hm…" Killua hummed. That was why everyone was outside the class. He then looked at the group and his gaze stopped at the unfamiliar brunette. "And this?"

"Oh, this is Zushi! He's a senior! And he's showing us around!" Gon said cheerily. He then turned to the younger boy. "Zushi, this is Killua I'm talking about."

"I'm Zushi-su! Nice to meet you-su!" Zushi bowed in a strange manner. First he putted his hands across his chest the spread them wide to the side.

Killua coolly nodded at the boy. "Hi."

"I hope we all can get along well since we're classmates." Gon smiled widely.

Killua tilted his head. "Classmates? I thought you said he's a senior." It took him several seconds until it clicked in his mind. "Oh! You mean he is…" He looked at Zushi, whose face slightly reddened.

"Yeah, I'm repeating a year…" Zushi admitted sheepishly.

"I see. I didn't know that there was repeat system in this school." Killua said.

"That's why, Killua, you shouldn't skip class to often!" Gon reminded his friend.

"Yeah, yeah…" Killua replied half-heartedly.

"Um, well… You know, actually it doesn't really anything to do with absence. It depends more on… er, each of the student's _ability-_su_._" Zushi said. His words made the other four stared at him in puzzle. "You see, it's related to the Nen subject. I can't explain the detail but… Let's just say if one can't pass the final exam on that subject at the end of the school year they'll have to repeat a year-su."

"You mean, as long as someone doesn't pass the Nen exam they'll have to repeat a year, even if they pass the other subjects?" Kurapika asked while the others were still trying to proceed the piece of information they had just had.

Zushi nodded. "That's right-su. And the rate of a freshman to advance to the second grade is only 50%-su."

"WHAT? 50%?" Gon and Leorio gasped in unison.

"It means there're around 25 students who repeat the class every year." Kurapika calmly deduced as she tapped her chin. It seemed she was the only one who didn't get scared by the low percentage.

"W- Well then, I guess repeating a year isn't something to be shame about, Zushi." Gon said, trying to cheer this new friend of him.

"Yeah, but I still feel embarrassed. Not to mention that I still failed even thought Wing-sensei had helped me a lot-su." Zushi scratched his head.

"Speaking of Wing-sensei, you seem to be really close to him. What kind of person is he?" Gon asked excitedly.

"Wing-sensei is a very nice person-su. He's very patient with the students," Zushi said. From his expression, Gon and the others could tell that he really respected the teacher. "But sometimes he could be really careless… And somehow his shirt always stuck out-su."

Gon laughed hearing the description about his new homeroom teacher. "Is that so? I guess he and I are a little alike then. My aunt also often scolded me because I always got my shirt dirty."

"Anyway, he's still an amazing teacher," Zushi continued. "That's why I decided to stay in his class and help him out rather than moved to 1-C. Oh, 1-C is a special class for those who repeat a year like me-su."

"I see. I see." Gon nodded. Now he had a better understanding on what kind of school Hunter Institute was. It was an amazing school, with amazing teachers, amazing subjects, and amazing exams. Well, the last one scared him a bit but he believed he could do it as long as he studied hard. Besides, he had friends who were on the same boat with him.

Gon looked at Kurapika. That girl looked quite confident. Well, Kurapika was a bright person after all so she wouldn't find too much difficulty. Maybe he should ask her to teach him some subjects he was bad at later. He shifted his point of view and saw Killua. Killua looked like he was thinking about something else, but Gon couldn't guess what it was. Anyway, he should keep an eye at this silverhead so that he didn't skip class again. Gon looked up and now was looking at the much taller Leorio. Leorio's face was slightly paler than it usually was.

"Hey, Leorio, are you okay?" Gon asked in worry.

"Eh? Oh," Leorio was slightly taken aback when the boy suddenly talked to him. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about the exams. You know I'm not really good at studying." He smiled groggily while scratching his cheek.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm not good at studying either." Gon grinned. "Let's have a group study later. Mito-san once said that studying with friends would have been 100 times better than studying alone."

"Sounds fun. I'll help you out as much as I can." Kurapika said. She then side glanced at the older guy and added in sarcasm. "That's it… if you study seriously."

"O- Of course I will! I'm serious about my dream of becoming a doctor!" Leorio said as he straightened the collar of his dark colored gakuran. "If only there're cute girls with us. I'm sure I'll be much more serious." He added in very low voice, but Kurapika didn't fail to hear it.

"Leorio!" The blonde Kuruta glared at him then exhaled sharply. Maybe helping out this guy was a bad decision. This guy could only think about useless things like cheating and girls after all.

Speaking of girls…

"KURAPIKAAAAA!" Suddenly a girly female voice was heard from afar, followed by bouncy footsteps. Several seconds later the blonde found herself being tackled by a girl with pink hair.

"You're so crueeeeel! Why did you leave me behind?" The newcomer said while clinging to Kurapika's arm, much to the latter's annoyance. This girl was shorter than Kurapika. Her pink hair was tied up in a bun with yellow ribbon. She also wore some hairclips and hair ornaments that matched her big blue eyes. She was really girly and feminine, very different from the blonde who stood beside her (and whom she was still clinging to). Anyone who saw the together might have been mistaken them for a couple instead of two girls who shared the same room. "Didn't I tell you I'm not used to be alone? I got lost several time because you were not with me! If it wasn't for this veeery nice teacher I met, I wouldn't have made it to the entrance ceremony!" The pinkhead whined right on Kurapika's ear.

"Whoa! Who's this cutie?" Leorio asked. His pale face suddenly returned to its normal color. A little pinkish, if Kurapika might add. This man was extremely excited with the new girl's appearance and Kurapika couldn't resist an urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm Neon Nostrade, Kurapika's roommate." The pinkhead answered cheerily. She seemed really pleased by the attention Leorio showered her.

"Such a cute name for a cute girl!" Leorio chirped.

"Aww, thank you." Neon giggled. "Say, are you Kurapika's friend? May I ask who your name is?"

"I'm Leorio Paladinight, and yes, I'm Kurapika's friend. We're like… best buddies forever! Right, Kurapika?"

'Whatever.' Kurapika thought as she massaged the bridge of her nose. She started getting a headache because of these noisy people. Thanked God a teacher happened to passed by and saw the commotion.

"Nostrade-san!" A baritone voice called out. It made the said girl instantly froze on her spot. The group immediately turned their heads to where the voice had come from. There they saw a relatively young teacher. He had black hair and black eyes. The bandage that covered his forehead and a pair of blue piercing made him look slightly off as a teacher, but overall he looked much neater that Wing with a black unbuttoned suit over his white shirt. "Don't run in the corridor and don't talk too loudly. Your voice disturbs the other." He said to Neon and then turned to Leorio. "You too, Paladinight-san."

"Yes, sir!" Neon answered.

The teacher nodded then walked away. For some unknown reasons, Neon released Kurapika from her grip and followed the teacher like a puppy.

"N- Neon-chan?" Leorio gaped in confusion when the girl suddenly left. She didn't even bid him a good bye. "What was that?" He grumbled.

"Oh, it's Kuroro-sensei. He teaches an intermediate-advance Nen class in second grade-su." Zushi butted in with his explanation. "He is really popular among the female students for his good looking and gentleman attitude. Rumor says he is a genius with IQ score above 180. He even remembers the name of all of the students here-su."

"Hmpf, memorizing the girls' name like that. I believe he's just a womanizer who's looking for a chance on his students." Leorio scowled. It was clearly seen that he was not amused to hear such a perfect man existed in the world and that Neon preferred that man to him.

"FYI, that so-called womanizer teacher also remembered _your _name. Don't you think he's _at least _better than _a certain guy_ who doesn't even have a confidence in memorizing the teachers' name?" Kurapika said in intended sarcasm.

A vein popped in Leorio's head. He opened his mouth and was about to reply (or shout) to Kurapika when Kuroro cut in. He was several meters away from them when he stopped and turned back to see the only girl left in the group.

"Oh, right. Kuruta-san, please wear _your_ uniform properly."

That line made Leorio's day.

Well, it wasn't like Kurapika was wearing her uniform untidily or something. Mind you, she was a very neat person who would never let anything sustain her clean clothes. The problem was, the uniform she was wearing wasn't the orange-green seifuku like Neon and the other girls did. She didn't like mini skirt. As the name implied, they were too short… and always made her legs cold. The boys' uniform was way more comfortable and warm. Besides, she could move freely in it.

And then this man, who was completely a stranger, used the authority as a teacher to tell her to wear that freaking skirt.

Last time she checked there wasn't any rule that prohibit a girl to wear the boys' uniform.

(Uh, Kurapika, it was actually a common sense for a girl to wear girls' uniform.)

"I hate him." She declared as she smacked Leorio, who was laughing his heart out, on the head.

Gon could only laugh dryly as he watched everything from the sideline.

"This is just ridiculous. I'm heading back to dormitory." Killua said as he walked away on his own.

* * *

"Killua, wait for me!" Gon called out as he ran after his friend, who was happened to be his roommate as well.

"That's just ridiculous." Killua muttered.

"But it was fun," said Gon, who had successfully caught up with the silverhead. "Besides, isn't it great that we can know our friends better?"

" Friends?" Killua slightly widened his eyes. Wait, had his ears just deceived him? Had Gon just said _our_ friends?

"Yes, friends. You, me, Kurapika, Leorio… and Zushi! Oh, and Neon-san as well, thought we haven't introduced ourselves." Gon made a big smile. "She and Kurapika look really close. I hope we'll get a chance to talk with her again."

Close? That woman and Kurapika? Killua sneered. From what he had seen Kurapika looked extremely annoyed with that woman's presence. "I don't think they're _close_, Gon."

Gon blinked. "Huh? But Mito-san said people will only make skin contact when they were close to each other. Oh, by close I mean in relationship terms, not physically."

'Again with that Mito person.' Killua mentally noted. Slightly annoyed, he decided to ask. "Who is that Mito-san?"

"Oh, she's my aunt. Well, she's my father's cousin actually. But she's like my mother because she was the one who raised me." Gon explained.

"Huh? What about your real mother?" Killua asked again. The silverhead wasn't aware that he was had become slightly interested in this _friend_ of him.

"My real mother…" Suddenly Gon's cheery smiled changed. He looked rather sad now. "I've never meet her, nor I know how she looks like."

Killua stared at the other boy. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Sorry about that."

"Nn, it's okay," Gon shook his head. "Like what I've said before, Mito-san is my_ mother_."

"…I see." Killua replied awkwardly. He never meant to meddle with someone else's family business, but it seemed like the boy who walked beside him didn't mind to tell him the entire story of his life.

"You see, Mito-san has been raising me ever since my father left me in her care. Oh, right. I haven't told you yet that I attended this school in order to find my father." Gon grinned at Killua.

"Your father?"

"Yup. He's a graduate from this school." Gon nodded. "I thought he might be here so I went to this school… Turned out that he wasn't here…"

"…"

"Well, I know you must think that I'm stupid because I went here without even checking whether he was here or not." Gon laughed.

"No. It's not like that. Actually I…" Killua suddenly stopped in hesitation.

'_I'm also the same.'_ That was what he wanted to say, however… should he told Gon the truth or should he not?

"Hn?" Gon looked at Killua in curiosity. Their eyes met, and suddenly Killua remembered his conversation with Netero...

* * *

_One hour ago at the Cherry Blossom Garden… _

"Let's get to the point then. Is _that person_ here?"

Netero didn't answer immediately. He took his time looking at the cocky boy as if he was trying to figure out what was this boy talking about. But of course, he knew what Killua meant. He was, out of all people, the wise and almightily Isaac Netero. "Well, if you're thinking about the same person as I am thinking, then the answer is yes."

"Really?" Killua's cat eyes widened. Netero could see joy and relief reflected on those sapphire orbs. "Let me meet her then. Please!" The boy half-ordered half-pleaded.

Netero stroke his white beard and shook his head. "Forgive me, I'm afraid I can't."

"W- What? Why?"

"You don't have what it takes to meet her." The old man replied. He still kept his calm attitude even thought the boy in front of him suddenly emitted a dark aura. He could see this young boy in front of him was desperate. "Now, now, don't be so worked up," Netero said calmly. "You'll get to meet _her_ eventually, but not now. Not yet."

"What do you mean?" Killua demanded.

"There are several things you need to learn before you can meet her. They'll help you understand her real situation."

"Can't you just tell me about them now? Here?"

"Well, of course I can't. You see, you'll at least need to finish your first year here and advanced to the next grade to learn about those things." Netero said.

"WHAT? You mean I have to wait a whole year?" Killua exclaimed. Was this old man serious?

Netero chuckled seeing Killua's reaction. Such an inpatient boy.

"Don't laugh at me, Gramps!" Killua threw a deadly glare, which would make a normal person froze on their feet. Then again, Netero wasn't anything near normal…

"My bad, my bad. But it's the truth." Netero shrugged.

Killua sighed. He was screwed. Totally screwed. One year was too long.

"I can help you with that though," Netero said. "It'll still take some time, but won't as long as a whole school year."

"Really?" Killua looked up.

"But first… you'll need some companions."

* * *

"What's wrong, Killua?"

Gon's question brought the said boy back to present time. Killua quickly turned his face to Gon. Now the blackhaired boy looked slightly worried.

"Ah, no, it's just… Actually…" Killua clenched his fists. "Actually, I'm just the same as you."

"Eh?" Gon blinked.

"I'm here to look for a family member… my little sister." Killua finally confessed.

"Eh? Eh? Really?" Gon asked. "Is she also a student here?"

"Um, I'm not really sure. But apparently she's here. Netero said so." Killua said hesitantly. He was slightly taken aback by Gon's reaction.

"That's great. Hope you can meet her soon, Killua! I want to meet her too. Can I? I wonder what kind of person she is. Oh, I know. Since she's your sister she must be…"

Killua's lips curved upwards and formed a thin smile as he watched Gon talking and laughing. Netero said he would need some companions… Companions as in _friends_.

Somehow… somehow he didn't mind to have Gon as his friend. To be frank, he was actually looking forward to it. The other boy was the complete opposite of him and it made Gon even more interesting in his eyes.

Killua wouldn't admit it out loud though… because it was just so damn embarrassing!

(He would also consider making friend with Leorio and Kurapika. They had been together since the entrance exam after all... And perhaps with Zushi too. That boy looked like a good kid. He wasn't sure about the pinkhead though. Err, what was her name again?)

* * *

**Well, that's a little insight about Killua and how he started befriending Gon. Also, the group meeting with Kuroro and Neon…**

**Next time we'll cover about their classes. Meeting some teachers (maybe) and Bisuke! **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please spend a minute or two to leave a review and wish me luck for my exams!**

**Until then n_n**


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